Hugh Malone begins with a grain bill featuring a blend of Maine grown barley, imported Pilsner, and raw wheat malt. At the beginning of run off, we add a portion of hops to the sweet wort in the kettle; a technique known as "first wort hopping". As the boil begins, a generous amount of Chinook hops are added for bittering. Later, in the whirlpool, the beer is hopped with a blend of Centennial and Amarillo, for aroma. This same blend is used, post fermentation, to lend additional hop character to the finished beer. The result is a complex brew with a malty palate, intense hop aromas, pronounced bitterness and a pleasantly dry finish.

Beer: Reviews & Ratings

750mL, cork. No date noted.
Pours a very murky orange color with a medium head of tan/off white bubbles. Aroma is very yeasty and bready with only a hint of citrus and pineapple(?). Taste is a bit oaky is this barrel aged? Yeast dominates the flavor profile. Reminds me of drinking a homebrew that was bottled too early. Hops and malt are nearly completely hidden under all the yeast, and this was not a vigorous pour. In the background, you can detect and presence of simcoe hops and some malty sweetness. Mild bitterness, again distracted by the yeast. If you have one, I would recommend ageing a bit. Right now, it is a mess. (631 characters)

The head is not huge but fluffy. It leaves a bit of lacing just at the top of the remaining head and is off-white. The beer is deep amber with an orange tint and is well-hazy.

Smells are sweet malts and yeast with subdued hops. Not much there for a Belgian IPA, though the balance is nice.

More full maltieness and a hop balance in the taste too. Good beer but odd for the style (as listed on BA). The Allagash website says to 'drink young' and I am expecting this one isn't young at all, though there is no date for me to check.

Mouthfeel is full, carbonation full, and finish dry with a slight aftertaste/feel.

Drinkability is moderate only.

I like this OK but am dissapotinted by the beer as a representation of the style, especially considering the cost was $18ish and I can get Stone's Cali-Belgique for $7.Slainte. (884 characters)

Clear light golden with a thin white cap. Lots of lacing down the glass. Pretty.

A subdued and mild nose. Not a lot here. Some sweet fruit aromas and a presence of Belgian yeast but not an overly aromatic beer at all.

Follows the nose, in that this beer just doesn't have much punch or any powerful flavors. A mild beer for such a relatively high ABV. Some mild sweetness, a touch of hop bitterness, some Belgian yeast tang presence, but everything is quite subdued.

Thin to medium mouthfeel, a touch airy, very easy drinking.

A relatively uninteresting and bland Belgian IPA. What flavors that are here are pleasant enough, but they're hiding! (697 characters)

This is a Belgian IPA? I may have to refer back to some XX and Houbelon Chouffe just to make sure I wasn't dreaming of some reckless brewer combining copious amounts of hops with fruity Belgian yeasts because this? This... well, it's not worth 15 bucks a bottle or whatever it's going for these days... and it tastes like a Dubbel.

Pours beautifully, light ruby brown, clear, with a finger of head and solid retention.

Smells like... well, like not much at all. Just barely a hint of fruity, Belgian estery goodness, no hops to speak of, maybe a bit of toasty malt sweetness... but in a goblet, with tons of head, to be this absent of aroma-y goodness is a crime.

Tastes... fine, for a dubbel. Hints of raisin and/or currants and brown sugar but with a bit of a bitter tang at the end. If I pretend hard enough I can make some of the fruit sorta grapefruitish in nature... but wtf? If there's any hops here to be detected its on the bittering side of things and yeah, that's great and all, but poorly befitting of the price tag and more importantly, the style.

Nice body and carbonation, pretty clean and crisp... I would happily drink this if offered it in a vacuum, but otherwise? I'm disappointed. (1,212 characters)

I actually drank this as my first beer of the super bowl this year. Poured at cellar temp into a wine glass.The beer exhibits a mahogany color with garnet highlights when held up to the light. A fizzy beige head of .5 cm foams up and fades. Aroma is malty with caramel and brown sugar with some toffee notes too. No real hop presence.First sip reveals an average body and fine fizzy carbonation.

Flavor is similar to nose with sweet caramel and toffee and again no hop presence that I detect. No alcohol either which is nice. A very straight forward beer that is easy to drink. Not very complex. I am very surprised to see it listed as a Belgian IPA cause the hops were missing.I wasnt overly impressed with this beer. (722 characters)

This must be one of the first Allagash brews I have not enjoyed. From the pour, the beer looked amazing. A murky golden orange with very thick foam and a bitter citrus smell. I was pretty excited. But after my first sip, I realized something was a little off. The bitterness I smelled turned into a round, sour taste. Not sharp sour like a flemish sour ale, but round sour, like old milk. I'm not sure if I just got a bad bottle, or if this was their intention, but it didn't work for me. The orange and citrus notes redeemed it enough to make it drinkable, but there was something acrid about the taste that really put me off. All around, I'm a huge Allagash fan, so I'm hoping and guessing this was just an off bottle. (720 characters)

Once again a Belgian inspired beer that also attempts to include an American hop component. I haven't tasted a one yet that delivered on the hype. Poured a dark dull amber with a flat aroma of yeast and dusty sweet malt. Tasted yeasty with a little burnt sugar, and for a brief fleeting moment I caught a hint of those ballyhooed hops - then they were gone. Sharp, piercing carbonation and a kinda foamy-like mouth feel. I just don't like reading a brewery sell-sheet about how they get all jiggy with various hopping innovations and acclaimed varietals only to come up with something that tastes like a mediocre tripel. It makes me feel misled. Especially when you pay 15 dollars for a bottle of it! (700 characters)

Cloudy and glowling burnt orange hue with a two finger light tan head that slowly settles to a thin cap.

Large amount of citrus from the hops, along with orange peel.

Tons of orange peel in the flavor, although that may be from a mix of the hops and some of the spices added to the beer. Tart flavors from the malts. Full bodied with a high amount of carbonation, somewhat acerbic.

An okay Belgian IPA. Seems like there was too much orange peel flavor in this one for me. (502 characters)

Pours a deep amber with light red highlights, and a 3 finger head. Great retention leaves behind no lace, but a thick layer of creamy foam on top of the glass.

Aroma is filled with some spicy yeast phenols, especially a black pepper aroma. Some grassy, citrusy hops are in the background too, but fairly faint.

Flavor is quite mild. Stale grain is dominant up front, followed by a metallic hop component, and a bone dry, lingering finish. Again, spicy phenols a present, but not as much as in the nose. Very little malt character. Mouthfeel is light, with heavy agressive carbonation. Drinkability is decent, not great. Kind of a sipper. You don't long for another taste.

Overall, this is a decent beer, and well made. I couldn't find any real flaws with it, but nothing about it really wowed me. For half the price, the Houblon Chouffe BLOWS this out of the water. Definitely the least exciting of the special release Allagash to date. Not a bad beer by any means, just not overly exciting. I won't be buying it again.

One thing I do LOVE about this beer is the name. Great combination of the history of a great brewer, and a play on words for co-humulone. I also think it's really cool that Allagash is donating a dollar from each bottle to teach others the benefits of organic farming. (1,302 characters)

Now that we get Allagash in Georgia we're even getting the special releases. Nice frothy head, fully dimished. Body was hazy, amber. Aroma: light bread, hay, and straw. LIght hoppiness, with herb and grass. Moderate yeast, aswell. Kind of smells like their Tripel. Also banana and apple. Very much like the tripel, but not as malty or yeasty. Ok, but not something I would buy again. (383 characters)

a - Pours a nice amber-golden color with two inches of creamy white head and light carbonatioin evident.

s - Smells of mint, pine, spices, cloves, and a little lemon.

t - Tastes of mint, pine, floral hops, citrus, and spices.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation.

d - An ok Belgian IPA, but there was something in the smell and taste that seemed like mint to me that was offputting; not sure exactly what it was. Decent but probably would not have again. (518 characters)

A bit of bad follow-up one night at Lord Hobo, starting off with some rich, dark ales, as this one was quite the transition, although a bit a palate re-adjuster for later brews. Golden yellow with some haze and a bright white fluffy 2 fingers of light head & sticky lace. The aroma was somewhat mild, evoking a peppery lemon yeast. The flavor likewise did the same in a creamy, but still quite easy to drink crisp & bubbly refreshing way. Pretty basic, but a nice summer beer, if you can it cheap! (497 characters)

The beer pours a cloudy gold color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a fruity pale malt and Belgian yeast aroma. There is a light hop aroma that seems to blend nicely with the spiciness of the Belgian yeast. The taste is average. It has a warm, pale malt flavor along with a very spicey yeast finish. The hops are present, but they take a backseat to the "Belgian pale ale" flavor. There is a mild bitterness that really reveals itself in the finish, but I'm not that impressed with it. The mouthfeel is decent. It is a medium/full bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a flop by Allagash. I've had hybris style beers like this before, but this one falls flat. I like the idea, but the execution lacks. I prefer more IPA character. This tastes like a Saison yeast. It's quite peppery. They should use a less aggressive yeast to highlight the hop profile, IMO. (921 characters)

Pours cloudy gold with a humongous white head. Rocky, nice lacing. Aroma advertises a great beer. Hoppy, peppery, some pine, and a fragrant, sweet Belgian yeastiness. Flavor does not carry through. Soapy, unbalanced hops with that medicinal herbalness (perfect call swoopjones). The crystal malt goes very well with the yeast, however. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was good, just not great. Probably could have been better without the dry-hopping. (449 characters)

The smell is very pronounced, sweet yet mild citrus. More so than any belgian IPA I can think of right off hand. Small amount of sweet barnyard like yeast, green apples, lime and a nice alcoholic undertone round out the nose.

The taste initially comes off a bit flat. A hint of sweetness and a muted pale malt profile on the front. The usually apparent yeasty flavors I know are there get buried under loads of carbonation. The hops are nice and floral yielding much more flavor than expected, herbal, floral and a tad bittering. The alcohol in the finish is very noticeable and provides a welcome warmth.

The mouthfeel is on the heavy side of medium bodied. Tons of carbonation take away from the flavors I so dearly want to experience. So far the carbonation level is this brews only real setback.

Overall, big ups to a great trader for putting this in my hands. I would get this again for the smell alone, the taste is no deterrent either, the 750 will be no problem for one sitting. Good. (1,126 characters)

Not a bad beer, but as most of the reviewers so aptly stated, it is definitely overpriced. $16 dollars for a 750ml is steep for a beer. Yes, the cork and casing are cool, but it ends there. The beer is a well carbonated, hazy orange amber with a very nice off white head that retains and retains. There is a goodly amount of lacing too. The carbonation doesn't quit, with the little fizzy bubbles streaming to the top well after the pour. The smell is very subdued and not very enticing. I little more dry hopping could have brought something out in this department, but alas no, and what you get are some very subtle sweet malts, candied sugars, some alcohol notes, and maybe some fruits. It smells like a weak trippel or Belgian blonde. The taste is sweet malts again, medium bodied, creamy consistency, a little pepperish snap in there, but it fades as the beer warms. There is a malty, caramel flavor more than anything else that I detect. There might be some currant flavors, but they are pretty far down on the taste-o-meter. There is a slightly lingering aftertaste, but not from the hops, more from the candied sugars and the yeasts. If you let it hang on the tongue for awhile, you might get some pine resin hoppiness, but you have to really search for it. Not a bad beer, one I would drink again, but why is this one priced so high? (1,342 characters)

A - Honey colored with an orange hue... Thin white head fades to leave a delicate but inviting lace... Slight amount of carbonation... Good stickiness...

S - A sublte mix of hops, yeast, and malt... Sweet citrus...

T - Sweet grapes... Apricot... Malt... Honey... Faint hint of yeast... A very mild mannered hop profile at the end... Substantially sweeter than I had expected...

M - Smooth... Very minimal carbonation on the tongue... Much thinner than expected... Nothing distinctive in terms of mouthfeel...

D - Easy drinking, especially for 8.5% ABV... Given its classification as a Belgian IPA, it's disappointing... The hop profile was so subdued, that I would have never guessed this was a Belgian IPA if I didn't no otherwise... I've never been a huge fan of Allagash brews, but I keep trying new ones an always seem to walkaway unimpressed... (904 characters)

T. Sweet esters, fruity, hint of tartness, apples and grain, keep thinking this should be more dry. Light caramel malt and wet, musty, earthy hops shine through. Interesting, but not a great blend of tastes. Yeast character a bit too strong here.

This beer pours an amber color with a nice head that has good retention. The aroma is slightly earthy and has a hint of alcohol to go along with a bit of fruitiness. The flavor has a lot of sweetness along with some spices. There is also a strong caramel malt profile and some fruit character. The body seems moderate, but a little more thin than I expected. The drinkability is just ok, as the spices and the alcohol present them readily in the flavor. This isn't a bad beer as it has a lot of character, but I don't know that it's one I'd seek out again unless it's much older. (579 characters)